In My Dreams
by NinaMellarkMalfoy
Summary: What if Cato and Clove were the victors of the 74th hunger games? from the tracker jacker scene till the end of the book- now i'm thinking it should go later! Cato/Clove best couple ever : alternate ending-Chapter 5 is up!
1. Chapter 1

Clove's POV

I glared across the flickering campfire at Glimmer and Cato, all snuggled up in each others arms. Well, really, I was glaring at Glimmer. I hated Glimmer. Next to me, Marvel gave a sad little sigh. "What?" I asked. "Glimmer..." he mumbled quietly. Of course he liked her. He would. Every boy went crazy about beautiful, funny Glimmer. She probably had sponsors lined up around the block. Unlike me. At home, no boy ever paid attention to me. Well, not just the boys. Nobody paid attention to me. They probably see me as that Clove who tried so hard to please Cato but all he did was pay attention to perfect Glimmer. That's me. I DO try. I try so hard to get him to notice me. I don't really like killing people. I just do it so Cato will actually look at me for once. Suddenly, an idea pops into my head. Pushing my hair behind my ears, I tell Marvel. "Um, Marvel?" I rush on before I lose courage. "Well, you like Glimmer, right? And, um, well, I kinda like Cato." Marvel glances at me, then at Cato, then back at me. "I know...we don't have any chance. One or both of us is going to die. But...I figure I can at least have a few days of happiness before...you know..." I trail off, looking at the ground. "Go on." Marvel says to me. "Okay...well, I know this sounds strange, but maybe if we...pretend to...you know, like each other" I blush "then they would get jealous and come to us?" I look down, ashamed. "Kinda strange..but...I love it." Marvel says. "Love what?" Glimmer asks from across the camp. Ugh. She had to choose this time to butt in. Typical Glimmer. "Her knife." Marvel says quickly, covering up for me. "Oh." says Glimmer. "Anyway," Marvel says in a quieter tone, leaning back towards me, "It's great. Honestly! I really do love it." "Okay..." I say. "Then..." before I could finish, Marvel droops his arm around my shoulders. "Can one of you guys take first watch?" he asks. Cato and Glimmer turn at the sound of his voice. I carefully watch Cato's expression. Sure enough, his eyes widen at the sight of Marvel and I...together. "I will!" Glimmer pipes up, not noticing anything. Ditzy blonde. Marvel nods, then pulls me closer to him in the grass and I fall asleep almost immediately.

Cato's POV

I can't sleep. I suppose I should keep watch. Glimmer certainly isn't. She's asleep on the ground. My eyes flicker over to Clove. Her chestnut hair spilling onto the ground, the freckles dotting her face. Marvel's arm around her shoulders...now she's with Marvel. Great. The only reason I was with Glimmer...is because I'm in love with Clove. I thought I needed to make her jealous! I thought it was working! And now its all Glimmer's fault. I get up and walk over to Glimmer. I shake her awake and hiss at her, "Glimmer! Wake up! You're supposed to be on watch!" She sits up, rubbing her eyes. "Can't YOU do it, Cato? YOU'RE already awake." "No! Glimmer, NOW!" I almost shout at her. Then I walk away, fuming, and flop down on the ground. I can feel Glimmer giving me the evil eye, but I don't care. I hate Glimmer. She's pretty and all, but she's annoying, and girly, and fluffy...I don't even know how to explain it. But Clove...she's perfect. She doesn't know it, but she's beautiful. I want her to win so badly. That's the reason I volunteered in the first place. Yeah, I know I'm eighteen and I was supposed to volunteer anyway, but when Clove ran up and volunteered, I knew I had to also. I can still remember that day...*It's Friday morning. The reaping is at 12:00. I pull myself out of bed and head downstairs. My brother Fabian is already up. "Hey, Cato! Want to come for a little pre-reaping jog?" Fabian is already 19. He doesn't have to worry about whether or not he'll win the Games. He already has. I shake my head. "Um, no thanks, Fabian. I want to eat breakfast. Go to the training center for a bit." I tell him. "Okay," he says. "Have fun! And may the odds be _ever_ in your favor." We both laugh. Everyone knows I'm going to volunteer this year. A while later, I'm at the reaping. Our escort, Grandis Lapworth, says in his annoying Capitol accent, "Well! We are at this fateful day once again! I'm sure you're all very excited." The crowd cheers. "As always, ladies first!" He reaches into the glass bowl. "Winnow Dunbryll!" he cries. I suck in a breath. Winnow is a twelve year old, orphaned and taking care of her two siblings. She hasn't been chosen to train as a Career. She walks, trembling up to the stage. "Any volunteers?" Grandis calls. "I volunteer!" a voice yells. I _know_ that voice. I turn slowly. No. NO. It's Clove, who I've loved since I first set eyes on her during training. No! This can't be happening. I was going to win her over by winning the Games. I thought maybe, just maybe, I could marry her someday...I hear Grandis call out, "And for the boys...Talon Wellwood!" "I volunteer!" I yell out. I have to. To protect Clove.* I roll over, back in the present, and look at Clove again. Does she know? That she became the reason I volunteered? I close my eyes, and fall asleep with her face in my mind.

Clove's POV

I wake up to hear a buzzing above me. I shake my head to clear it, and look up. Fire Girl is sawing away at something...I see bees flying around her. What's going on? She flinches violently. Oh my god. They're not bees. They're TRACKER JACKERS! The branch cracks. Now the nest is falling. I roll out of the way as the nest slams into the ground where I was just laying. Tracker Jackers explode out of it. I cover my face with my hands and curl into a ball. I hear a high-pitched scream. Glimmer. I take a quick look. She is covered with tracker jackers. Cato, Marvel, and Lover Boy are all running away. Then I feel a sting. Two stings. Three. Now I'm screaming. The world is spinning. Everything turns red. Spiders, millions of them, are flying down in parachutes from the sky. My eyes find Cato, or what I think is Cato, smashing through the trees. Coming back for Glimmer. But...wait..."Clove! Clove!" he screams. He's turning blurry. He's changing. Into a vicious mutt with fangs instead of teeth and sharp claws in the place of fingers. I scream, trying to get away. "Clove! Get up! Run!" he shouts. "Clove, can you hear me? Clove, please!" I can't get up. I can't run. My legs aren't working. I'm going to die. I feel a whoosh as Cato pulls me up into his arms. One clear thought snaps into my mind despite the haze. I might have a chance. Water starts splashing down on the trees. As it hits them, they turn into orange ice and explode, shards flying everywhere. I'm bouncing and rolling like I'm on a boat. My head jolts sideways and I watch as snakes crawl out of every hole. They come for me. Stars dance before my eyes, and the world fades to black.


	2. Chapter 2

Cato's POV

My feet pound the ground as I dash on, holding Clove tightly. She's passed out about two minutes back. I see she's gotten three stings, one on her arm, one on her cheek, and one on her shoulder. The stings are already swelling, I can see it, and if I can just get to the Cornucopia in time, to the supplies, then she might make it. I have a sting too, only one,on my wrist. But one is enough. I try to ignore the pain and the nausea and push on. I see a hovercraft appear in the sky. Probably for Glimmer. Funny, I missed the cannon when she died. Even though I hated her, I feel awful for her. That is the worst way to die, I think. But then again, isn't anything? What must that be like? I know I will have to die too, to send Clove back to District Two. I hope my death is quick. That District Twelve girl, what was her name? Katniss? She'll probably do it, and I don't think she'll draw it out. Maybe she won't survive the tracker jackers, though. Lover boy told her to run. I KNEW he was loyal to her. The effects of the tracker jackers are getting to me now. I burst through the trees and see the Cornucopia, golden in the sun. I collapse by the supplies, knowing I only have about a minute until I black out. Fortunately, I find the bundle I am looking for quickly. I spread the green medicine on Clove's stings, then on mine. I drop the container and then there is nothing but darkness.

Clove's POV

I open my eyes and squint against the bright sunlight. I become aware of a muscled arm draped over my shoulders. It's CATO'S. Cato! I can hardly keep from squealing with joy, girlish and uncareer-like as that sounds. Ever since the first time I set foot in the training center and saw him, three years older than me, I loved him. And when I volunteered for Winnow, and then he volunteered for me, I liked to pretend that he did that to protect me. I thought it could never happen. But now... "You awake?" I start at the sound of his voice. I turn over slowly and look into his beautiful blue eyes. "Finally. You were out for..." he seems to be counting in his head. "About three days. I think I was out for one. That traitor Lover Boy, he's dead for sure. I know where I cut him." I smile. One less tribute. I say, "Cato. You saved me. Not Glimmer. Why?" He breathes out slowly. "Clove...this is an awful time to tell you this." His mouth quirks up in a half-smile. "I should have told you this a long time ago. When I first met you." A chill runs down my spine. Is he... " I love you, Clove." He pauses, then his voice turns deadly serious. "And I swear, Clove, I'm going to get you out of this arena alive."


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry! I was being too lazy to upload. Well, anyway, here it is :) Please review! 3**

**Disclaimer: Doesn't belong to me. :P**

Clove's POV

I gasp. Can he really mean that? His eyes tell me the whole story. Yes. Yes, he does mean that. But if he saves me…that means that he will die instead. No! I resolve to let that not happen. "Cato..." I plead. "You can't do that!" "I have to, Clove." "No!" I start crying. I don't know why. I have been trained not to show weakness. Ever. "Shhh, Clove. Shhh, it's alright." He holds me tight until I stop crying. "It's okay, Clove. Calm down." No. How can I calm down? If I live, and he dies, I know I'll spend the rest of my days closed of from the world. I won't ever love, if he dies. So, I know I have to die instead. Oddly, I'm not scared, even though I know I am going to die. "Okay. I'm okay. I'll take watch," I tell him. He looks at me. "Don't fall asleep like Glimmer." I laugh, and watch as he lies down. In a few minutes, he's asleep. Good. I start to plan my death. I know he will keep himself and I alive until we are the last two. Then he will commit suicide. And let me win. But I can't let him do that. Because I am going to die instead. I know there's poison plants out there. Or I could simply have another tribute kill me. And Cato has to win. He has to. Or else who would bring home victory? I sit, trying to devise a plan. I know some poisonous plants. Deathweed, which I know is fatal if swallowed but looks just like chickweed, grows in abundance here. I lay back on my shoulders. This is hard. I look over at Cato. Sleeping, he looks so innocent. As if he's 16 instead of 18. As if he hasn't seen the things he's seen, or done the things he's done. But I know better. And he is even more innocent than I. I'm sadistic, and I know that. And I don't mean to be. Maybe I'm going crazy. I don't deserve to live. I can't face the families of the children who I so brutally carved up and killed. It's impossible. I simply cannot do it. And that is why Cato must win, because he delivers swift death to people. I'm crazy, mad and dangerous. And I should never go home. I spend the rest of the night staring up at the stars, wondering what home will be like without me. Nobody will probably care. Not my family. They'll just think I'm weak. When the first rays of dawn cross the horizon, I shake Cato awake. "Time to get up," I tell him. "Good morning, Clove," he says sleepily.

Cato's POV

I can tell she's up to something. I can tell by the look in her eyes. And I think I know what it is. How she stopped crying so abruptly last night can only mean one thing. That she's going to sacrifice herself so I can win. I pray that I'm wrong, but, I know I am not. She shakes Marvel awake quickly, then the boy from District 3. I still don't know his name. He's amazingly smart, though. He restarted the mines from the pedestals and placed them around our supplies pyramid. He has some kind of control that can turn them on and off. I stretch out and bask in the warm morning sunlight. It's very nice, now, when it isn't blistering like it is at about 12:00. I reach into the pile of supplies and grab a few apples, throwing the burlap bag that holds the rest back onto the side of the pyramid. I toss one each to Clove, Marvel, and District 3, and keep one for myself. Clove hands out some crackers and I munch lazily on them. Suddenly, I jump up, half-eaten apple falling out of my hand. "Smoke!" I shout. "Look!" I point excitedly towards the direction of the smoke. Part of me wonders if this is a trap, like who would be stupid enough to set off a fire with that much smoke? But I shrug it off. We need to check it out anyway. The others begin to assemble their weapons. "What about him?" Marvel asks, jerking a thumb in the direction of the District 3 kid. "He's coming," I say. "We need him in the woods, and his job's done here anyway. No on can touch those supplies." The boy punches in a few numbers on his controller. "What about Lover Boy?" he says. "I keep telling you, forget about him. I know where I cut him. It's a miracle he hasn't bled to death yet. At any rate, he's in no shape to raid us" I tell him. I shove a spear into District 3"s hand. " Come on." Right before we enter the woods, I say, "When we find her, I kill her in my own way." Which basically means stabbing her, but it sounds good. "And NO ONE interferes." This last part is aimed toward Clove. The last thing I need her to do is enter the fight and get herself set off at a brisk pace through the woods. After a few minutes, I speak up. "Hey, guys, wouldn't it be better if we split up? Circle around and cornered them?" "Good idea," Marvel says. "We'll go this way. "You and Clove," he winks at me, "can go that way. So you can keep her safe. We'll meet up at the place where we saw the smoke." With that he runs off. "Okay, let's go," I say. Clove doesn't move. "Well, come on." I say. "WHY?" she shouts at me. "WHY, WHY DOES EVERYONE THINK I HAVE TO BE PROTECTED?"I step back, astonished. "Clove," I begin, but she cuts me off. "NO! I want to know WHY! FOR THE PAST FEW DAYS, EVER SINCE SHE DROPPED THAT DAMN TRACKER JACKERS NEST DOWN ON US, YOU'VE BEEN TREATING ME LIKE A PRECIOUS, BREAKABLE THING! AND I WANT TO KNOW WHY!" She whips around, her anger spent. "Clove" I say, "Listen to me. I'm getting you out of here alive! And I'm using everyone I can to help. I know they'll try and beat you in the end, but for now, I won't let that happen." She turns to face me. And before she can protest, before she can do anything, I lean in and kiss her.

CLOVE'S POV

You know how they say that when you kiss someone you really love, fireworks go off in your head? Well, I didn't think they meant it literally. The second Cato's lips touch mine, a resounding BOOM shatters the silence. He breaks away. "What the-" Then we see it. A plume of black smoke rising from the general area of our campground. Damn it. The supplies! Cato must have realized this too, for he starts to run in the direction of the smoke. I follow him without hesitation. At the edge of the woods, he stops so suddenly I crash into him from behind. Our supplies, our campground is up in flames. It must be… the mines! Oh, lord, the mines that the District 3 boy set up! At that moment, Marvel and 3 run out next to us. Speak of the devil. Cato rounds on the 3 boy. Cato starts shouting at him. Then, in one fluid motion, he snaps the boy's neck. He falls to the ground, and a cannon goes off. "Who did this?" Marvel asks. "They're dead." I get out, still shellshocked by the whole two minutes, though it seems longer, from seeing our supplies on fire, to Cato killing that boy, to now. I point at the sky. "We'll see them tonight. Please, Cato." I touch his arm, and he looks over at me. "Oh, Clove…" he says tiredly. He sits down, his head in his hands. He sits that way for the rest of the afternoon, not speaking to anyone. When night falls, he finally breaks his pose. The anthem begins to play. But the only two faces are the 10 and 3 boys. So…"Damn it!" Cato swears. "They survived!" He turns around. "We are going out in the woods. Tonight." I agree, even though I'm exhausted, and I really don't want to go. "Clove, are you sure you're all right? We'll go only half the night. And you sleep as long as you need to tomorrow." "I'm fine," I protest. "I'm fine." So we set off. I put on the glasses. So does Cato. Marvel lights a torch, and off we go. Despite my earlier reluctance to go, I feel amazing. The cool night air refreshes me, and I'm reminded of my sister, Cicely, and I catching fireflies in out yard. That was before she and Mum and Dad died from the Fever, and my brother Carob and I were sent off to the awful, awful Children's Home. I spent as much time away from that place as possible, as much time training as I could. That's why I'm so good. But that was another time, a happier time. After awhile, though, I have to stop. The fatigue is getting to me.

Cato looks over at me. "Come on, Marvel." We're going back." He agrees, and we make our way back to camp. Or what's left of it. "Why don't…we sleep in the Cornucopia?" Cato suggests. "It would be warmer. Since we don't have any supplies. Thankfully, I lay down, sheltered from the freezing wind by Cato. His hand slips into mine as he gets comfortable enough to keep watch. The last thing I feel before I float off to sleep is his hand brushing the hair off my face.

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	4. Chapter 4

Cato's POV

I look out at the full moon above the treetops. It's odd, this moon. It seems bigger than any I've ever seen at home. A strong wind starts up outside, but it's going past us, not towards us. A slight breeze finds its way into the golden structure. It ruffles the hair that frames Clove's beautiful face. I spend the rest of the night staring outside at the swirling leaves and dust. When dawn breaks over the treeline, Marvel stirs and awakens. Clove is still fast asleep. I decide to try and sleep. I lay down, and the minute I close my eyes, I'm dreaming. It's an awful dream. I'm standing on a rock, high above a field of flowers. I know this palce. It's the field from home. Suddenly, I hear screaming. I see Clove running across the field, chased by a pack of cat-like animals. No! I try to move, but I can't. "Clove!" I scream as she is overtaken by the animals. She is bleeding from deep gashes all over her body. Then, the cats turn into the dead tributes. They have all sorts of weapons, and they stab her over and over. An awful wail rises up to me. "Clove!" I scream. "Clove!" One of the tributes turns to face me, his mouth red, dripping with blood. He is the boy I killed by snapping his neck. "No!" Clove is trying to get up, but she keeps falling down. "NO!" I yell. She reaches out her bloodied hand to me. I see her mouth move, and then her eyes go lifeless and her hand flops on the ground. I suddenly can move again. I sink to my knees, sobbing. "Clove..." I say. She's dead, "Clove!" "Shhh, Cato. I'm right here, someone says, shaking me awake. I open my eyes and see Clove's worried face looking down at me. I let out a shuddering breath and sit up. "I had a dream...a nightmare..." I say. "Shhh. I know. You were thrashing around and screaming. My name." She says. "You were being killed," I whisper. By cat things. That turned into all the dead tributes One of them, that boy I snapped the neck of, was drinking your blood." I hug her tightly. "It's okay," she says. "It's over." I stretch. "What time is it?" I ask. "I don't know. Afternoon." I look around. "Where's Marvel?" "He went out, a while ago. Said something about setting a trap?" I nod. The sun is shining outside, bright and hot. To the left is the scorched marks of the explosion. "I need a drink," I rasp. My throat feels parched and hot. Clove hands me a blue water bottle. I take a big gulp, then almost spit it out when the resounding boom of a cannon echoes across the field. Who...who was that, do you think?" I ask Clove. She just shrugs. After about a minute, another boom makes us cringe. "Two people dead in a minute. "Strange for now," Clove says. "Who's left?" I ask. "That could've died?" "Hmmm..." she thinks or a minute, counting off on her fingers. "Fire Girl. Lover Boy. Redhead, Marvel, Rue-" I cut her off. "Rue?" "That little girl from Eleven." "Oh." "Yeah. So, Rue. Thresh." "Okay. Could be any of 'em. We just gotta wait until nighttime." The afternoon wanes. Marvel doesn't return, and soon the moon is rising. The first strains of the capitol anthem begin to play. Then the faces. Marvel...Marvel is dead. And Rue. "I didn't think..." I begin to say. But there is more. Claudius Templesmith is speaking. "Attention tributes. There has been a rule change. Two tributes, if they are from the same district, may be crowned as victors." Then he repeats it. Clove looks at me in wild happiness. Without hesitation, I lean forward, and kiss her.

Clove's POV

It's the first real time we're actually kissing. That kiss by the tree only lasted a second. But now his lips are warm against mine, his hands tangling in my hair. My fingers trace his jaw and I smile against his mouth. He breaks away and I wrap my arms around his neck and bury my head in his shirt. He whispers into my hair, "I love you, Clove. I always have, and I always will. We're perfect for eachother." I'm so happy. So, so happy. "Only...only in my dreams did I think this would ever happen." "Well, you know what they say. Dreams can come true." He leans down and kisses me lightly on the forehead. "I love you so much, Cato." I whisper. We sit down against the wall of the Cornucopia. I lean my head against his shoulder. "Cato, you must be tired. I'll watch." "For the rest of our time here, until we get out, because we WILL get out, we'll watch half-nights." he replies. " One of us can't afford to be tired the whole day, by not sleeping all night." I agree, and he arranges his backpack more comfortably on the ground, rests his head on it, and soon is sleeping. His short blonde hair is silver in the moonlight that's shining into the Cornucopia. I can't believe my luck. Why did they change the rules? Then I think of Lover Boy and Fire Girl, and their "romance". Maybe people were so unhappy that the "star-crossed lovers" wouldn't be together, and it was such a threat to the Games that they changed it. But...could it be us? We are Careers. Maybe any emotion from us, usually the trained brutal killing machines, would be stronger than anyone else's. I'm getting tired after about two hours, so I splash water on my face to wake myself up. I hear a rustle in the bushes across the field. Then, with a burst of leaves, a wild dog bursts out, growling, and sprints towards us. It leaps once, the falls to the ground with a sharp bark as my knife enters its throat. I listen closely for any more. Then I cautiously walk over to it. Shakily, I drag it right outside the Cornucopia. My hands are overflowing with blood. I know that that will bring on predators, but there isn't anything I can do about it. We need food. I assemble wood, and luckily find three matches in my pack. Using Cato's sword, I slice the dog into several pieces, and slide them onto a spit. Time passes fast after that, and soon I wake Cato. "Clove!" he shouts angrily. "A fire? You KNOW we can't have one at night." I glare back at him. "FINE, Cato." I snap. "Then what about the food? Oh, yeah, I was busy HUNTING, while you were sound asleep. I killed a dog. And now I'm cooking it. On the FIRE that I built." "Oh." He says, utterly taken aback. "Sorry, Clove, I was just worried, I'm sorry, really-" I smile. I know he doesn't mean to yell. "It's okay. I'm okay. We're fine," I say. He just laughs. Gratefully, I lie down next to him. Soon I drift off into a fitful sleep. When the sun begins to rise, I sit up. "Ouch," I say. "That was one hell of a night." Cato turns to face me. "Hey, beautiful," he says.

CATO'S POV

I smirk as Clove blinks sleepily. "I'm hungry," she says. "Well, you caught this thing," I tell her. "First pick is yours." She grins, and takes a piece, but doesn't eat it. "I can't believe you used my sword!" I jokingly yell at her. Her smile fades, and she becomes serious. "Was that a dream? Last night?" she asks. I know what she's talking about. "No. We can win. Together." I look at her slyly. "And the kiss was real too." I smirk as she blushes. She come and sits down next to me. "Good. And there I was planning my suicide," she says. "Clove! No!" I cry. "Re-lax," she laughs. "I'm not going to." "I KNOW that. But before?" I say. "You had to go home," she sighs. "I'm a killer, I don't deserve it." "And I do? I've killed too, Clove. I've killed children, innocent children. I'm a monster, Clove. You deserve to, more than anything." I tell her. I pick up a slice of meat and examine it critically. "Are you sure that this is okay?" I ask. "No." she says as I tentatively take a bite. "What?" I almost choke on the meat. "Kidding." I give her a look as she finishes off her piece. "Let's take a walk," she says. I agree. This is unusual. Oh well. We walk into the woods to the left of the Cornucopia. "That dog is gonna take a long time to finish off," I say. 'I don't think I can eat THAT for a week." I tease her. "Oh please," she says. "Like YOU could catch anything," "I could too!" I say indignantly. "Nope," she says. "Wanna bet?" I say. "No." "Come on! Are you too weak?" I say, teasing her. "Cato, I could kill you in two seconds if I had to. Still think I'm weak?" She smirks at me. "Whatever," I say. Just then, the sky splits open and rain starts pouring. A rumble of thunder sends us running back to the Cornucopia.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: SUMMER'S HERE! I'm gonna try to update every Tuesday! I love you! 3

Disclaimer: I don't own it… :'(

Clove's POV

I smile as I face the oncoming storm, as I run through the pounding rain. Cato's so funny. We both know he couldn't REALLY catch anything. Ha. As the Cornucopia comes back into view, the rain becomes even harder and lightning strikes the trees not too far away. We stop, startled, then realize the close proximity of the lightning and sprint to the golden structure. We collapse inside, panting. Then… holy crap. The dog is gone. Cato swears. How are we going to survive? My stomach is growling painfully, I only had a small piece of dog. We're not going to survive. Before I know it, I'm in Cato's arms. "Clove, please don't cry," he pleads. I didn't even realize I was crying. Maybe I'm going crazy. A thump outside the Cornucopia makes us pull apart. Cato immediately grabs his sword, still covered in dried blood from the dog, and edges outside. When he comes back in, he's grinning, and in his arms is a silver parachute. I grab the package from him and rip it open. There's two plastic containers with instant soup in it, two roasted chicken legs, and two red velvet cupcakes. Cupcakes! I've only ever tried a cupcake once before. I go to unwrap mine from the clear packaging but Cato's hand closes around my wrist. "Uh-uh," Clove, he says. "Those are for dessert." I pout. "I want one nowwww, Cato!" "Too bad." I huff at him and grab one of the instant soup containers. "Well then," I say, "Dinner first." I read the directions. "We need water for this, Cato," I say vaguely. "No duh." When I look up to glare at him, his face is two inches from mine. I start, and he grins. "Awww, Clove, did I scare you?" he teases. "You're so annoying, Cato. I don't even know why I LIKE you, let alone love you-" "Oh, shut up, Clove, you know you love me." He teases me, and goes in to kiss me. Pushing him away, I say "Ugh, stop it, Cato! I swear, sometimes I think I'm the older one here!" He laughs. Sticking my tongue out at him, I run out of the cave. It's still raining, but I squint my eyes and run through it. I know it's not safe to be near water in a thunderstorm, but I fill up the water bottle quickly. As I hurry back to the cave, my foot catches on something. A tiny brown bottle, dirty and wet, lies on the ground next to my foot. I pick it up. _Iodine_, it says on the rim. Iodine. What we need for purifying. I can't believe we forgot about this until now. We haven't drank any water directly from the lake yet though, and I'm almost positive there's _something _in that water that would make us sick. I duck into the Cornucopia's mouth and make my way, dripping, to the tail end. "What've you got there?" Cato asks from where he's lounging by the fire. I cough as some of the smoke gets into my face and makes my throat and eyes sting. Waving it away, I hold up the small bottle. "Iodine," I answer. "Oh, yeah, we need that," Cato says, pushing himself off the metal floor. I roll my eyes. "Uh, yeah." As the water purifies, I lie down on the cool ground. The metal is uncomfortable, but I don't care. I'm too tired to. Before I know it, Cato is shaking me awake. I rub my eyes. "Did I fall asleep?" I ask. "Obviously," he replies with a smirk on his face. "The soup is done." I grab my cup eagerly. Too soon, I take a big gulp and burn my tongue. I wince, but I've fared much worse injuries than a burnt tongue. Cato notices, though. "Want me to make that feel better, Clove?" he says, a mischevious look in his eyes. I give him a look. "No." "Aw, please, Clove?" he puts on a puppy-dog face and I burst out laughing. It looks absolutely ridiculous on him. I don't answer him, just take a sip of my soup. It's cooled down enough now. After finishing my soup, I reach inside the parachute box. "Let's not eat the chicken now," says Cato. "We've gotta save some food." "You do realize that will spoil, right?" I laugh. "Right…" his face falls. "We should've eaten that now, the soup wouldn't have spoiled." "Oh well," I say. "Wait a minute," he says. He feels the sides of the box. "It's a cooler!" he grins. We got lucky, that's all I can say. "Well then…"I say, "It's time for…cupcakes!"

CATO'S POV

I can't help laughing at her enthusiasm, although I'm excited as well. I don't really get a chance to eat sweets in District 2. The other Districts think we're the richest, and we are, but not by that much. The Capitol helps us out some, I guess you could say that we're their favorite. Still, most of us aren't that rich. We get by easier than the other districts, I'm pretty sure of that. But all the Career trainees aren't allowed to eat anything unhealthy, really ever. So I've never really had anything sweet, even though I can afford it. Clove takes a bite of her cupcake and grins. "You've got a frosting mustache," I tell her. She licks it off her lips. "Eat one, Cato!" she exclaims. I pick up mine and unwrap it. When I take the first bite, my eyes widen in surprise. I've never eaten anything this good. It's amazing! "Woah," I say. Clove cracks up. "Cato," she laughs, gasping for breath. I finish off the cupcake in two bites. I look at hers. She notices me and yelps, "Cato! No! You've already GOT yours!" "What if I want _another _one, though?" I say, raising my eyebrows. "Too BAD." As the sky fades to black, Claudius Templesmiths voice comes out of hidden speakers.

"Attention tributes," he says, "Tomorrow morning there will be a feast. "Now hold on. Some of you may be declining my invitation. But this is no ordinary feast. Each of you needs something desperately. Each of you will find that something in a backpack marked with your district number, at the Cornucopia, at dawn. Think hard about refusing to show up. For some of you, this will be your last chance." Clove looks at me. "We don't really need anything," "Food." I reply. "Food. There's seven of us left. It's not gonna end very soon." Clove hesitates. "Okay. But it's going to be near here, you know? Probably- most likely-they'll put the feast near the Cornucopia. And what if we oversleep and they come in and kill us? We have to move." I agree, and we grab our packs and hurry into the woods. We pick a spot underneath a weeping willow, its hidden and relatively safe. Clove huddles next to me, and together we fall asleep.


End file.
